The present invention relates to an eardrum pressure equalizer intended for the treatment of (middle ear) sound-transmission hypacusia (hearing impairment).
Hitherto, this treatment has been performed by means of a Politzer bulb or bag, invented last century by the Viennese ear-and-nose specialist of the same name. With this device one tried to attain the appropriate pressure, basically through the eustachian tube, in the tympanic cavity.
This device is based on the use of a bulb by the compression of which one achieves the supply of air at a given pressure, depending on the force with which the bulb is squeezed. As a result, the said device is attended by the drawback of providing discontinuous, low and uncontrollable, as well as unmeasurable pressures, since they are a function of the manual action. As a result it is practically impossible to introduce continuously appropriate medication into the eustachian tube.
It is the object of the present invention to obtain a device of simple design, operation, and handling so that it can be used by the ear-and-nose specialist or by the patient himself. At the same time, the device of the invention is of relatively low cost, and its operation is fast and efficient.
By means of the pressure equalizer of the invention one obtains the supply of a constant pressure, measurable at any time, and that allows for the supply or furnishing of the appropriate medication at any time.
According to the present invention, the pressure equalizer comprises a low-power air compressor, driven by means of an electric motor, a tubular compressed-air storage device connected to the compressor, and a nozzle outlet connected to the storage device.
The compressor, besides being of low power, is not to operate with oil so as to prevent iatrogenic problems (not to introduce oil particles into the ear).
Another object of the present invention is to obtain a pressure equalizer equipped with auxiliary elements, which include a microprocessor, that make it possible to increase the applications, to facilitate the applied treatment, and to simplify its handling.